This disclosure relates generally to a system and method for diverting a printing job to a proximal networked device. More particularly, this disclosure relates generally to a system and method for determining proximity using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology prior to diverting the printing job.
Networked devices, such as printers or multifunction devices (MFDs), may be configured into clusters, where the devices in a cluster are physically proximal to one another. A user operating a first networked device may request that a second networked device perform a task. When the second device is included in a cluster, a program routine executed by a network server may direct the task or job to another device included in the cluster. The network may select the device to which the task is diverted based on device availability.
However, configuration of a cluster of devices must be performed via the network server. Each time that a device is added to or removed from the cluster, the cluster configuration stored and maintained by the server must be updated. The present disclosure pertains as well to other types of devices that receive a job request from a remote location over a network and generate a physical output, where the generation of the physical output takes time and is subject to failure. The present disclosure is advantageous for providing load-balancing and/or failover. Exemplary applications include devices for burning audio compact discs (CDs), data CDs, DVDs and Photo CDs; programmable laser engraving devices; chemical etching devices; vending machines dispensing the same or similar stock, etc.
Reconfigurations, updates and maintenance to a network server typically are overseen by skilled personnel having the appropriate expertise and network privileges, such as a network administrator. Furthermore, configuration and maintenance of the cluster which is performed by the network server may be disruptive to the network, and may require temporarily disabling the network. In general, the configuration and maintenance of clusters on a network may be time consuming, expensive and disruptive.
Yet, the network administrator has the advantage of deciding which devices should be in a cluster, such as by taking the physical location of the various devices to be clustered into account. For example, when establishing a cluster of printers, it is desirable for the cluster to include printers that are proximal to one another, so that when a print job is redirected from a first printer included in a cluster to a second printer included in the cluster, the user will have a general idea where the location of the printer printing the print job is located. It is desirable for the printed output to be simple to locate and easy to get to, e.g., just a few steps away from the location of the device to which the printing device was sent. Accordingly, it is important to take the physical location of the devices into account when deciding which devices are to be included in a cluster of network devices.
Accordingly, there exists a need for establishing and maintaining a cluster of networked devices without configuring or updating a network server.
Furthermore, there exists a need for establishing and maintaining a cluster of networked devices which takes into account the physical location of the individual devices without configuring or updating a network server.